ATTENTION IPHONE USERS: For the best experience using this app, your iPhone's location services for this app must be set to "Always." This allows the app to provide alerts even when it is not on the main screen, or when the phone goes into sleep mode. To verify that this setting is correct, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services. Please be sure that the general Location Services button is set to on/green, and then select "Always" next to the app.

PA Turnpike TRIP Talk

iPhone Application FAQ

Below are a few of the questions you might have or problems you may experience, along with our suggested resolution.

1. The Application will not install.

PA Turnpike TRIP Talk is currently supported on iOS versions 6.0 and up and should install properly on those versions and subversions of the OS. You may want to uninstall any previous versions of PA Turnpike TRIP Talk before installing a new version. Otherwise, a phone reboot before installation may solve the issue.

2. I've started the app, but I am not hearing any advisories, what's going on?

Several items can be occurring if you are no longer hearing advisories:

• You may be in an area where no advisories are in the radius you selected. If you think there should be, try pressing the "replay all" button on the far right of the audio controls. This will reset your connection and replay active advisories near you.

• Your advisory radius may be set to a low value.

• You may not be in range of a cell tower to provide data access. Ask a passenger to look at the phone (or when you are stopped) to check for any possible error messages related to the cellular network. Once you are back in range of your network, advisories should resume.

• Your phone may be simply attempting to acquire a location for your device. If you have wireless location (settings -> Wi-Fi) enabled, you can generally get quicker response times as the phone can utilize this less accurate location while it acquires a more solid GPS lock. If you only have GPS location enabled, allow the device sufficient time to acquire a lock.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.
The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

3.
I am sitting in traffic/an incident and PA Turnpike TRIP Talk did not tell me about it. Why?

You may be arriving to the incident before it has arrived to our system. If you don't hear an advisory shortly, then there could be other factors.

Your phone may have lost internet access. Some areas have weak cellular coverage, so this is possible from time to time. The app will not work without internet access, but when it loses internet access, it will continue to try to automatically reconnect.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

If the app continues to say that there are no current advisories, your phone may have lost internet access. Some areas have weak cellular coverage, so this is possible from time to time. The app will not work without internet access, and when it loses internet access, it will continue to try to automatically reconnect. When PA Turnpike TRIP Talk automatically reconnects, the "No advisories" message will be replayed when there are no advisories.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

5. PA Turnpike TRIP Talk is giving me advisories that are in an incorrect location. Doesn’t it know where I am?

If the app does not give any advisories, your phone may have lost internet access. Some areas have weak cellular coverage, so this is possible from time to time. The app will not work without internet access, and when it loses internet access, it will continue to try to automatically reconnect.

You should also check your phone’s GPS Settings-make sure the phone’s GPS is turned on and the phone has a clear view of the sky so your GPS can be read and your location and direction of travel identified. This process may take several minutes. If PA Turnpike TRIP Talk experiences a GPS error, it will be displayed in red on the main screen.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

6. The screen shows that advisories are playing, why can’t I hear them?

If the screen displays that an advisory is playing, but you cannot hear it, turn up your phone's media volume. There are typically volume controls on the side of the phone, but each phone model may function differently. Check the user guide for your particular phone.

You may also have connected to a Bluetooth connection in your car that is not currently active. Please check the Bluetooth settings (see #18 below).

7. How do I minimize the Trip Talk App to leave it running in the background while I use my phone for other functions?

You can click the "home" button and PA Turnpike TRIP Talk will continue to play advisories for you while you use other phone functions. If you just want to turn off the sound from playing, simply toggle the On/Off switch to "Off". To have sounds resume playing again, toggle it back to the "on" position.

For iOS versions 6 and lower: First, Press the Home button once to minimize the app. Then, press the home button twice quickly to display the list of running applications. Locate the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk icon (on this screen or by scrolling). Press and hold down the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk icon. Now the icons on the screen will start to wiggle and each icon have a red - on the top corner. Find the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk icon and press the red -. The app will now be closed.

If you are using iOS 7, Press the home button twice quickly to display the list of running applications. Locate the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk icon (on this screen or by scrolling). Swipe up on the screenshot of the app you want to exit. The graphic will fly off the screen and the app will now be closed.

Be sure first that you are still connected to your provider's cellular network. (You need to be connected to receive the sound files). If you are connected, the most likely reason for the playback to stop is that another application began playback of another audio file and halted the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk application's audio stream. If this occurs, simply switch back into the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk application and press "play" to continue PA Turnpike TRIP Talk audio, if hitting play does not resume the audio or you wish to rehear all advisories, press the "Replay" button on the far right of the audio controls to restart your connection.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

10. I cannot retrieve a connection upon startup of the application, what's happening?

Either you are not in an area where the cellular data network is not available, or permissions for network usage have been disabled for PA Turnpike TRIP Talk. Ensure your network is within range, and permissions have been set to allow access for this application.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

11. I receive a GPS error upon starting the application, what’s happening?

Ensure that you have provided permissions to the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk application to use your GPS and location settings. You can find this option on your home screen under Settings -> Location Services and then look for the "PA Turnpike TRIP Talk" toggle which should be in the "ON" position. The "Location Services" toggle at the top of the screen must be "ON" as well.

Note: If you are unable to toggle the Location Services for PA Turnpike TRIP Talk to "ON", you might have Location Services blocked through Restrictions. Go to Settings -> General -> Restrictions, and enter your passcode. Tap "Location" under the "Allow Changes" menu. Tap on the "Allow Changes" menu item to allow Location service changes. Make sure the toggle for Location Services is "on". Switch the toggle next to PA Turnpike TRIP Talk to the "On" Position.

If you are still seeing the message after those options are set, you may be in an area where location data is not available. Try to move into range of several cell towers, or provide the phone a clear view of the sky to collect GPS coordinates.

The next time you experience issues please toggle the "Debugging Mode" option on, through the "Settings" page, to send us back information so we can better troubleshoot the issue.

With the PA Turnpike Trip Talk app open, tap the "Settings" link at the bottom of the screen. You may return to the main Audio Control screen by tapping the "Audio Control" button located at the bottom of the screen.

By default, the Non-Construction advisory types are selected for you. Construction Options are not selected by default. They generally do not impact traffic. If you wish to include or exclude either of these advisory types from your broadcast, you may do so through the settings page (access "Settings" by tapping your phone's menu button, and selecting "Settings"). Tap on the Advisory Type Preferences button, and check or un-check your selections.

Have a passenger dial, or dial when you are not driving. Tap the "More Features" link at the bottom of the main screen. You will be prompted to acknowledge you are not driving. A listing of "More Features" will be displayed. If you are using an iPhone, an "Emergency Numbers" button will be available. A list of important PA Turnpike numbers is displayed. Tap the number to dial. You may return to the main screen by tapping "Audio Control" at the bottom of the screen.

Yes. Have a passenger operate the phone, or operate the phone when you are not driving. Tap the "More Features" link at the bottom of the main screen. You will be prompted to acknowledge you are not driving. A listing of "More Features" will be displayed. Tap the "Toll Calculator" option. First, select your Beginning Interchange and tap "Done". Then, select your Ending Interchange and tap "Done". Select your vehicle's class and number of axles and tap "Done, and then click the "Calculate Toll" button. E-ZPass and Cash rates will be displayed.

Yes. Have a passenger operate the phone, or operate the phone when you are not driving. Tap the "More Features" link at the bottom of the main screen. You will be prompted to acknowledge you are not driving. A listing of "More Features" will be displayed. Tap the "View Map" option. A map will appear with your current position. Advisories of the types you have selected are pinned on the map. Tap on an incident to view the advisory text.
You may also add a service plaza layer to the map and an interchange layer to the map. At the top right-hand side of the map, there is a small square icon for a map menu (to the left of the refresh button). Tap this button, and select the layer(s) you would like to add. Tap on each icon for more information about the service plaza amenities or the toll booth locations.

17. I have a comment about PA Turnpike TRIP Talk. How do I contact you?

Have a passenger operate the phone, or operate the phone when you are not driving. Tap the "More Features" link at the bottom of the main screen. You will be prompted to acknowledge you are not driving. A listing of "More Features" will be displayed. Tap the "Feedback" option. Enter your name and your comments in the appropriate boxes. If you would like a reply, include your e-mail address. Click "Send Comments" to send your comment.

18. When I connect my cellphone via Bluetooth to the car, I cannot hear the alerts.

PA Turnpike TRIP Talk attempts to play via Bluetooth through compatible setups, but unfortunately not all Bluetooth users/devices will work well. Bluetooth functionally varies greatly between car manufacturers, and different users have very different Bluetooth experiences.

Smartphones generally have two output channels that can be Bluetooth paired - one is the audio of a telephone conversation, and the other is the audio from media being generated by an application (like the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk app). Most often cars Bluetooth-pair to the telephone audio by default, so that a telephone call will be automatically broadcast to the car's audio system via Bluetooth, interrupting any other audio playing through the system.

However, in order to broadcast media from your smartphone, a second pairing to the audio system of the car must be performed. Most often you will simply need to check the option on your smartphone's settings to allow sharing of the "Media Audio" (but you need to have the car running, and your phone in the car so that it can see the active Bluetooth). Once you make this pairing, you will no longer hear any media audio output from your smartphone, since the audio is being sent out by way of Bluetooth transmission.

Now, to hear the PA Turnpike TRIP Talk advisories (or other media) on your smartphone through the Bluetooth connection in your car you must select the proper audio input on your cars system. Usually cars have a separate control that allows selection of a variety of input modes, such as SAT, AM, FM, CD or Bluetooth media (or just Media). Select Bluetooth Media (or media) and you will hear both your music and PA Turnpike TRIP Talk advisories through the car's audio system.

As Bluetooth connections, car audio systems and mobile technology continue to evolve, we will be keeping on top of the Bluetooth issues and functionality, but there will likely be many differences among cars and devices.

19. My location is wrong - the map on my app places me in the middle of the ocean, near the west coast of Africa. How can I fix my location?

This is occurring because your iPhone is not giving the app access to your location. To rectify this issue, your iPhone's location services for this app must be set to "Always." This allows the app to provide alerts even when it is not on the main screen, or when the phone goes into sleep mode. To verify that this setting is correct, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services. Please be sure that the general Location Services button is set to on/green, and then select "Always" next to the app.